School's movement to prevent cyber bullying

Kids across the country are learning to navigate the trials and tribulations of their teenage years, and with the rapidly growing social media sphere comes a new type of bullying.

Nambour State College believed they had the answer - sending a postcard to the bully.

Initiated by HOD of positive behaviour Donna Timm with the help of school-based police officer Greg Newman, the new process creates a comfortable environment for students to report their cyber-bullying to the school.

Students then fill out a postcard for the police officer to pass on and remind the bully that their actions are illegal, and they could be charged with an offence if the behaviour continues.

"We don't want to scare the bullies, but we do want to make them aware that their actions are highly inappropriate," Ms Timm said.

"When children are 15, parents often have no access to their social media, but this is a supportive way of helping the problem.

"We want to teach our students to be more responsible in an IT savvy world and educate them about the ethical use of IT."

Reader poll

Should more be done to prevent cyber-bullying?

This poll ended on 22 November 2018.

Current Results

Absolutely.

71%

It should be the parents' responsibility.

0%

I'm not sure how it can be stopped.

28%

This is not a scientific poll. The results reflect only the opinions of those who chose to participate.

Mr Newman said he saw an overwhelming amount of cyber-bulling in his role as a police officer.

"It's one of the main stresses for kids at schools."

While the police officer was able to take action under the telecommunications act, the postcard program was designed to stop the bullying from getting to that extreme.

Student leaders were proactive in spreading the message to peers and on the first day two students came forward to report their cyber-bullies.